Nice, they've addressed everything I didn't like
I was shopping for an HTPC a year or two ago and dismissed the Intel NUCs almost immediately:
- The affordable ones had crappy processors, i.e., fixed-clock-speed i3s running at < 1.5GHz
- Only two USB ports (which would have been taken up by my wifi adapter and wireless keyboard/mouse adapter, leaving no free port for an external DVD drive or hard drive)
- Enormous external power brick, plus they required you to buy your own power cable
- Expensive (even the low end barebones models were > $350, now they're under $300)
- Questionable acoustics (apparently these have tiny and sometimes-annoying CPU fans, but with the new Broadwell CPUs I doubt the fans have to spin up much when streaming media)
So while I quickly dismissed them 1-2 years ago, I think the decision to buy one now for HTPC use would be a no-brainer.
Biting the hand that feeds IT
